She needs to tell that to some of her own Cabinet ministers said RSS state secretary Jishnu Basu, responding to Mamata Banerjee tweet that communal terrorism was the worst forms of terrorism

RSS state secretary Jishnu Basu on Thursday said he agreed with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s views on terrorism, but remarked that she needed to introspect and opt for self-reform in her own government.

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“Mamata Banerjee had recently tweeted that communal terrorism was one of the worst forms of terrorism. I could not agree more with her, but she needs to tell that to some of her Cabinet ministers and senior party leaders. One of her ministers calls his constituency ‘mini-Pakistan’, another has been speaking for an accused in the Khagragarh blast case and a Rajya Sabha MP had been helping fundamentalists in the state,” Basu told mediapersons.

He said that during the last RSS national executive committee meeting on October 22 in Hyderabad, members said there was an alarming rise of jihadi activities in Bengal, along with an increase in cases of atrocities against Hindus. “Post the meeting, a statement said Bengal has become a safe haven for Muslim fundamentalist groups. Bengal got a special mention in the meeting after this government came to power,” Basu added.

On October 25, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly, after returning from a visit to Bangladesh, had said Hindu minorities there were living a better life now. Negating that, Basu said, “I think she doesn’t have enough information about the living conditions of Hindus in Bangladesh, in totality, when she made those comments. Ground reality is different from what she thought. Hindu minorities have been subjected to attacks by fundamental religious groups.” He added he would apprise her of the situation in Bangladesh.

On triple talaq, Basu said the RSS would cooperate with individuals or organisations working for equal rights for men and women. “If some Muslim women organisation seeks help for victims of atrocities, we will help them,” he added.

The RSS claimed its branches and members have increased significantly during the TMC regime. “There has been an increase of about 275 new branches last year. At present, there are about 1,450 branches at 800 locations,” said RSS spokesperson Bidyut Mukherjee. The branches have come up in South-24 Parganas, North-24 Parganas, Midnapore and Birbhum.

On CPM and Congress hinting at an understanding between TMC and communal forces, and attributing this to increasing number of RSS branches, Basu said: “People are now seeing politics of appeasement and that is why there has been a rising number of branches and members of RSS.”